Foldable trestle.



F. M HELWGi FOLDABLE TRESTLE. APPLlcAloN m50 ocTr. 31. 1915,

952 Pmntea oet. 16, 1917.

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i Speciication of Letters Patent.

Patented Uct. i6, i917.

Application led ctober 31, 1916. Serial No. 128,714.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, FRANK lV. HnLwrG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Millersburg, in the county of Dauphin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Foldable Trestles; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it ap pertains to make and use the same.

The invention relates to improvements in foldable trestles.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of folding trestles and to provide a simple, practical and edicient folding trestle of strong, durable and comparatively inexpensive construction designed for the use of carpenters and various artisans and capable of being readily folded and compactly arranged when not in use and adapted to be easily and quickly set up for use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a folding trestle of :this character` equipped with a foldable rest adapted to receive and support the horizontal top connecting bar or member of the trestle and capable of being compactly arranged between the legs or standards of the trestle when the latter is folded.

l/Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended; it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted toL without departing from the spirit or sacriicing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing Figure l is a side elevation partly in section of a folding trestle constructed in accordance with this invention,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail elevation of the upper portion of one end of the trestle,

Fig. 4 is a detail longitudinal sectional view of the upper portion of one end of the trestle showing one of the ysupports or rests,

Fig. 5 is a detail vertical sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

6 for clamping the sections of the legs or standards in their adjustment. Any other suitable means 'may'of course be employed for adjustably connecting the sections of the legs orstandards. By varying the length of the legs or standards the trestle may be arranged for various uses such as plastering rooms of diiferent sizes and the trestle is adapted to take the place of anl ordinary scaffold. The legs are connected adjacent to their upper ends by a horizontal link or bark T pivoted at its ends at 8 to the legs l and adaptedy to permitthe legs to be arranged substantiallyparallel to permit the introduction of a timber 9 between their upper ends and the said legs are also adapted to be swung outwardly to an inclined position as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing for causing their upper ends to iirmly clamp and grip the timber 9. clined inwardly in a direction longitudi nally of the foldable trestle as clearly illustrated in Fig. l of the drawing. In practice, the trestle when constructed for ordinary use will be of a size to clamp and securely grip a timber two inches thick and a two by four, two by siX or two by eight or any other size timber may be used to enable a trestle of the desired length to be erected.

A trestle of,A greater length may of course be l made with heavier timbers and by this construction a trestle may be erected the desired height and length to suit the size of a room for plastering or any other purpose but the trestle may be made of much lighter material to adapt it for the use of paper hangers and various other decorators and similar artisans not requiring an excessively heavy trestle. rlhe legs are locked in their inclined position by pivoted bars l0 and 1l connected at their outer ends by rivets l2 or other suitable fastening devices to the legs or The legs also are instandards and pivotally connected at their inner ends by a rivet 13. The bar l() overlaps the bar ll and is provided with a laterally projecting lug le which lits in a notch 15 of the bar 11 to limit the pivotal movement of the bars 10 and 11 in one direction so as to 'form a straight rigid brace for holding the legs laterally separated. Any other suitable means may or course be employed for this purpose. The legs` are equipped at their upper ends with integral inwardly projecting spurs 16 which are adapted to be embedded in the top timber or member 9 as clearly illustrated in Fig@ of the drawings and the said timber is supported at the bottom by a longitudinal horizontally disposed rest 17 constructed of angle iron or othersuitable materialand having a side wing or flange and a supporting wing or flange which is provided with integral spurs 18 adapted to be embedded in the lower edge or face of the timber or member 9.. By` thisV construction, the timbery Ais securely held against longitudinal movement and is effectually prevented from slipping. The rest is provided with a longitudinal slot 19 through which passes a pivot 20, consisting of a rivet or boltheaded at one end and suitablyT secured at the other end rto the adjacent leg which also has rigidly secured to it a ktapering' horizontally disposed key 21 securediby rivets 22 or other suitable fastening devices tothe leg andadapted to engage a groove or way formed by spaced plates 23. The rivets 22, which are arranged vclose to the pivot, are suiciently small sov that they will not interfere with the turning of the resty on the pivot in swinging the rest from oneposition to theother. The plates-23 are secured to the rest at the top and bottomV of the slot 19, and their inner edges diverge slightly to enable the wedge to be tightly interlocled with the legs. rl`he slot'19 extends beyond the upper and lower pieces :23 and the groove or way formed by the same and therest is adapted to be moved longitudinally to carry the groove or wayhout of engagement with the fixed wedge shaped key and` enable-.the rest to turn on the pivot 2O which is received in the extension or' the slot 19. rlhis will enable the restto swing downwardly and fold between the legs and permit the trestle to be compact-ly arranged for shipping, storing or transporting.

Any other` suitable means may of course be employed for slidably interlocking-the rest with the legs. Also the Efshaped rest im :terasse may be rigidly fastened to the legs where a cheap construction orD great strength is desired.

What is claimed is zd l. A oldable trestle including oppositely inclined legs, an upper transverse connecting bar pivoted to the legs intermediatev of the `ends thereof to form upper clamping portions, a horizontally disposed timber supporting rest substantially L-shaped in construction secured to one of the legs and extending perpendicularly from the same `in opposite directions and provided with timber engaging means, and means for connecting and locking theV legs in their clamping position.

2. A oldable trcstle of the class described including inc-lined legs or standards having upper clamping portions, and a rest pivotally mounted on one of the legs or standards7 such leg or standard and rest being provided with coacting means for slidably interlocking the restwit-h the leg or standard to support the rest in a horizontalposi.- tion. Y y

A foldable trestle including opposite inclined legs or standards having upper: clamping portions, one of the legs or standards being provided with a pivot and hav-l ing a horizontal key and a restrprovided. with a longitudinal slot receiving the. said pivot and having a groove or way arranged to coact with theley to interlock the rest with the legs or standards, said'slot being extended beyond the Vsaid way to permit they restto be swung 4on the pivot to fold the saidrest between the legs or standards. J

e. A foldable trestle includingopposite4 inclined standardshaving upper clamping portions, one of the legs or standardsbeingprovided with-a pivot and having a horizontally disposed tapered key located on the said pivot and a rest provided with a longi-r tudinal slot to receive thepivot, said rest'being also provided with spaced plates or members forming a groove or wayzand coacting with the key to lool; the rest rigid in a horizontal position, said-slot being extend-J ed beyond the plates or members to permit the rest to be turnedV on the pivot and folded between the standards.

In testimony whereof l atliX my signature in presence of two witnesses. Y

FRANK YV. HELWIG.

llitnesses Y BENNETT S. Jones, M. l. LEWIS.

Clapiers` of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the .Gommssoner of Patents, Washington, D, G. 

